Which Cities Are Flying High In the Q2 2013 PayScale Index?

If you live in San Francisco, Baltimore, Chicago or Phoenix, then here’s another reason to love your hometown: these cities topped the list of biggest wage increases in the Q2 2013 PayScale Index. That means that these four cities have seen the biggest jumps in pay over the last twelve months. What’s the secret to their success? PayScale is here to investigate.

San Francisco leads the pack in big earners once again with a 4.5 percent increase year-over-year in wages. Is there something in the water in the City By the Bay that keeps paychecks rising? Or is it just that San Francisco continues to be the El Dorado of the tech industry. Across the board, Information Technology jobs saw slower growth than past quarters, but evidently competition in the San Francisco area is so steep that salaries have to continue their climb if companies want the smartest people working for them.

Baltimore comes in at number two for year-over-year wage increases. What’s pushing paychecks up in Maryland? Well, with core industries like Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade ranking numbers three and four respectively in the industry rankings, so it’s no surprise that wages in Baltimore rose 0.8 percent in Q2. Maybe we should call it “The More Than A Comeback City.”

Chicago and Phoenix tie for third place. Each city saw a 3.1 percent increase in year-over-year wages. Phoenix’s wages grew 0.5 percent this quarter alone, slightly beating out Chicago, who experienced a 0.4 percent increase in Q2.

Now you know which cities saw the biggest year-over-year wage growth. But who is down at the bottom? Tampa came in at last place with a 0.4 percent decrease in wages this quarter. Seattle, in spite of a 1.1 percent increase this quarter, came in second-to-last, with year-over-year wages only up 1.9%. (Seattlites, don’t panic just yet. You’re probably just growing more slowly after enjoying an early surge while most of the country was still reeling from the recession.

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